A. & A. Lawrence & Co.

A Boston selling agent (dry-goods commission merchant) for New England mills, A. & A. Lawrence was founded as a partnership in 1814 by the two Lawrence brothers, Amos (the elder) and Abbott. The firm first engaged in the sale of foreign goods but after 1816 dealt with selling domestic cotton and woolen goods on commission. In the 1830's it began to invest heavily in Lowell mills such as the Tremont & Suffolk, the Lawrence, and the Boott Mill, and helped to found the Massachusetts Cotton Mills. In due course, the Lawrences held stock in most of the major mills of New England and were the exclusive selling agents for those in which they held large interests. They also acted as purchasing agents for raw cotton. Not to be confused with Lawrence & Co., also selling agents of Boston and founded by Amos Adams Lawrence, a son of Amos Lawrence.